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Accept the duality of your human nature. You think as a collective and as an individual at the same time. It's a matter of budget. When you do things that don'
by gtsop 6y ago
Accept the duality of your human nature. You think as a collective and as an individual at the same time.
It's a matter of budget. When you do things that don't matter too much to you, you are damn happy to think exactly like the next guy, reusing the existing knowledge as is without a second thought.
For instance: how do you boil an egg? For all I care, I leave it in boiled water for 10 minutes. I am more than happy to never challenge this conventional wisdom because I'm spending all my time trying to think out of the box while searching for a new sorting algorithm.
Now put a chef in my place. They could have their own specialized/unconventional boiling technique while saying all sorting can be done with bubble sort.
Always restrict your conclusions within the appropriate context. For every person different things matter, you can't think for yourself for every piece of knowledge. There isn't enough time. If people didn't copy and follow along (while inovating in their special domain) we would still live in the stone age
- thomastjeffery 6y agoI like this point. Instead of "question everything", "question that which you are interested in". After all, asking - let alone answering - every question would simply take too much time.
- ausbah 6y agoisn't this just something people unconsciously do all the time?
- anonymouse008 6y agoIt takes extreme discipline to know what you should question vs. what you shouldn’t. There’s a line from some famous SVite that agrees with your sentiment - something about picking the right horses and more about focusing on the right things. A lot of this ‘how to boil a perfect egg’ competition comes not from the love of the pursuit (personally I have a much better day with a soft yolk), but because of the ‘prestige games’ we play with each other to prove we are not inadequate. It’s a joy to learn from someone who truly wants to share, not position. To them they’ve discovered this wonderful way to do X that maybe you’ll love too — but to hear advice from folks that wish you worship them in return for their advice, is almost a negative sum game. These articles walk a fine line, and many times it takes a live discussion for the intent to be measured.
- gtsop 6y agoAgreed. Also, there is a spectrum between extreme skeptisism vs not questioning at all For instance, getting back to the egg example, questioning what is the best way way to boil the egg can reveal to you a few known unconventional methods. But then you are on square 1 again, are you going to question those newly learned methods that others have put so much time in figuring out or just conform and accept them as they are? The point is, it's not a black a white situation: I care for X, I don't care for Y. It's more of a: I care a little for X, I care a lot for Y and I don't give a damn about Z. Leading you to questioning various topics in different depth
- jonfromsf 6y agoBoil it for 8 min 30 seconds. Cool it in cold water for 60 seconds right after.
- elefanten 6y ago+ / - X seconds (to taste!)